In This World
by MaidenInTheMoon
Summary: "In this world, I am someone who is unwanted" Naruto finally realizes that Sakura has no feelings for him, and in his pain, wanders off into a blizzard, absorbed in his hateful past. Is there someone out there who truly cares for Naruto? *Light SasuNaru*


Maiden: Well . . . I have a few things to see, starting off, I'm going to lay low on writing Naruto until the whole yaoi vs. het war thing blows over, I mean, it's like impossible to put up a story and not get flamed @_@  
  
NTI: So this'll be her Last Naruto fic for a while  
  
Maiden: ;__; I already had "Oracle" written.  
  
NTI: .  
  
Maiden: Yah . . . moving on, THIS STORY IS VERY LIGHT SASUNARU YAOI! So if you hate yaoi as much as Sasuke hates Itachi . . .  
  
NTI: Run like you're getting chased by rabid Hunter-nins!  
  
Maiden: ^_^  
  
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Summary: Naruto finally realizes that Sakura will never have feelings for him and in his loneliness wanders into a blizzard. He begins to become encompassed in his painful past, questioning whether the people he thought he loved really cared for him at all. Is there someone out there who completely and truly cares for Naruto?  
  
* * * * * *  
  
". . ." = talking  
  
//. . .// = thinking  
  
Disclaimer: I'm gonna see if they have Naruto stocks, then I can say I own part of it!  
  
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Title: In This World  
  
Author: MaidenoftheMoon  
  
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"Haruno-residence!" A feminine voice answered cheerfully, speaking slightly louder than usual because she was trying to drown out the laughs and music echoing in the background.  
  
"Sakura-chaaan!" Naruto yelled happily into the receiver upon hearing the voice of his favorite, pink-haired girl.  
  
"Oh, Naruto, it's just you." The voice intentionally dropped into an impassive, slightly bitter sound.  
  
Naruto obviously did not take the hint, only to continue the conversation more energetically.  
  
"Anou-sa*. . . I was wondering. . ." the boy paused momentarily, feeling slightly nervous, while attempting to ignore the heat rising in his cheeks.  
  
"Do you want to go out with me Friday night?" He asked, hurriedly, alternating the phone from his left hand to his right so he could wipe the sweat off his left palm on his pants.  
  
The girl's reply came all too quickly. "WHY WOULD I WANT TO GO OUT WITH AN IDIOT LIKE YOU? SASUKE-KUN'S THE ONLY ONE FOR ME!"  
  
*slam*  
  
Naruto stood there for a while, listening to the dreary dial tone buzz in his ear. He slowly set the phone back in its place.  
  
He shrugged and stared blankly at a warm fire crackling in the fireplace. The flames danced eagerly around each other and began to take shape. They looked like burning outlines of the kyuubi imprisoned within him, and they were all laughing at him.  
  
Naruto quickly diverted his eyes, and looked out the window at the gray sky. The snow blew silently in all directions, encircling the bare trees, making him feel small and lonely.  
  
The boy sighed, although he'd expected that to be her answer, it somehow still came as a shock, and it hurt to be turned down, it hurt a lot.  
  
"Maybe she really just doesn't like me . . ." He said silently to no one in particular.  
  
He pondered on it, finally beginning to understand what Sakura had been trying to beat into his head all these years.  
  
//She will never love me. . .//  
  
Naruto shook his head almost violently, attempting to return to his normal state of gleefulness.  
  
//Iie! There's always next time!// He thought in forced optimism. //I know! I'll go for a walk! That always helps//  
  
Ignoring the protest of the weather outside, he donned his light, orange jacket and stepped out the door into a cold, snowy retreat from his thoughts.  
  
* * * * * *  
  
He trudged farther and farther off, it had been at least thirty minutes since he passed Icharaku. He had kindly ignored the cook when he greeted him. The man was obviously excited, thinking that his favorite customer had braved the storm for a bowl of his ramen.  
  
Naruto stopped and looked around him. He had walked into a silent clearing in the middle of the forest. The ground was only lightly dusted with snow and a small, wooden bridge arched itself over a half-way frozen creek.  
  
The scene was so beautiful, it lay there, tranquil and untouched, taking Naruto's breath away.  
  
He walked timidly towards the bridge, as if afraid that someone would hear him.  
  
Reaching the middle, Naruto let out the breath that he didn't realize he was holding. He lay his forearms down on the railing and winced when he felt the iciness creep up his arms and run does his spine.  
  
Naruto gently laid his head on his arms and stared at the large pieces of ice floating slowly through the water.  
  
He wondered if this was how that boy, Haku, felt as a child, cold, lonely, and unwanted, or the other boy he had fought, Gaara, abused by society, left only to choose between hate or death.  
  
//I'm not like them!// Naruto thought to himself in defiance. //I have my friends that care for me . . .//  
  
In an instant, Sakura's angry face flashed through his mind and her uncaring voice rang in his ears.  
  
Naruto squeezed his eyes shut, blinking quickly to brush away the tears that began to sting under his lids.  
  
A rustle in the bushes snapped him out of his trance for a minute and his kunai was in his hand within moments, but his prepared defense was soon rendered unnecessary as not an enemy, but an elegant doe appeared through the shrubs.  
  
She walked soundlessly towards the creek, completely unaware of Naruto, and made small ripples as she drank the icy water.  
  
The fox boy only stared in awe, the slender legs, the smooth coat, the graceful movements of the dear all captivated him.  
  
Naruto's kunai dropped out of his hands as his fingers went numb, and the sound of the metal weapon connecting with the frozen ground caused the doe to shake.  
  
She glanced up at Naruto, her eyes alarmed and quickly the deer turned and sprinted away.  
  
"Matte!" Naruto yelled, realizing his attempts to retain the beautiful creature were useless.  
  
He sighed and returned to staring at the water below him, his pain clouded his senses, he was unaware that the iciness in the weather had already taken its toll on much of his body.  
  
//They all abandon me, just like Sakura-chan . . .//  
  
His clear, blue eyes suddenly became dull and emotionless and he stared at the dark trees across from him.  
  
"In this world . . . I am someone who is unwanted . . ." He whispered, suddenly feeling sleepy and warm.  
  
Naruto fell to his knees, unable to regain control of his body. The boy closed his eyes and fully expected to hit the bridge.  
  
//Is this the end?// He thought dreamily.  
  
To Naruto's surprise, the contact with the ground never came. His fall was broken by something soft, and warm.  
  
The blond boy felt himself being lifted up, but he couldn't bring himself to open his eyes. Instead, he muttered the first word that came to his mind.  
  
"Why?"  
  
When no answer came to him, he tried again.  
  
"You're stronger than me . . . You saved me . . ." He said breathlessly.  
  
"Only when you protect a precious person do you become truly strong." A very familiar voice reached Naruto's ears.  
  
"Omae wa* . . ." but before he could continue, Naruto lost his strength and the world became nothing, but he had a smile on his face.  
  
"I am your precious person?" he questioned inaudibly, slipping into unconscious.  
  
Sasuke smiled and looked at Naruto's relaxed features. The soft expression on the normally emotionless boy reflected all the pining in his heart.  
  
He slowly brushed some frozen bangs out of his teammates face and pressed his warm lips to Naruto's cold forehead.  
  
The dark-haired boy held his shivering comrade closer to him, offering as much warmth as his own body could give.  
  
"That's right Naruto, you are my precious person, and you are not unwanted, if there's anything I want more in this world, it's you."  
  
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~*Owari*~  
  
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~Anou-Sa~ - Ehehe, I think it's like "hey" or something, I don't know if I spelled it right, but Naruto says it all the time XD  
  
~Omae Wa~ - You are . . .  
  
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Maiden: GAHH!!!  
  
NTI: ::cringes as glass shatters::  
  
Maiden: ;________; I sooooo wanna write a sequel to this, but CRAP!!! I'm too scared, I'll probably get flamed for this too. Darn! I would have answered all the questions in the sequel too.  
  
NTI: -____-()  
  
Maiden: Plz review? If I get lotsa positive feedback I'll be brave and write a sequel! Yah, I totally made Sakura an evil gremlin in this fic ^^;;; my bad, I don't have anything against her, I just needed an antagonist ^_^ hehe  
  
Two things  
  
1) If you are an anti-Naruto yaoi person, plz don't flame me! This should be my last Naruto fic for a while, if you MUST review, could you just plz say it calmly and maturely? "I'm not fond of Naruto yaoi and I don't agree with this pairing" will do just as well as "fuck you, you filthy bitch!" ^_^(\/)  
  
2) I hope this whole yaoi vs. het thing will be sorted out cleanly, I think that we are all Naruto authors and our difference in taste should not prevent us from getting along. It's almost like something completely out of a history text book . . . ::sigh::  
  
Anyways, R/R ~Onegai?~ ::Gives puppy dog eyes::  
  
~Maiden (Yah, I edited some spelling errors and changed the ending a bit ^_^) DAMN, I NEED A BETA!!!!!!!! I HATE SPELLING ERRORS! -___-() 


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